A Sanctionistic Summer Vacation for a Movie Quiz

Among his regular readers, blogger Dennis Cozzalio (he of the wonderfully titled Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule site… and as professorial as the guy in the glasses above) is well-regarded for his in-depth film knowledge and the thoughtful essays he gladly shares. The L.A.-stationed Mr. Cozzalio remains one of my long-time reads and a fellow TCM Film Festival regular. Plus, his semi-regular movie quizzes remain the stuff of legend. For the summer of 2019 he’s teed up another:

Personally, I regard these as interview questions. But, that’s me. Anyone interested in film or sharing our thoughts is invited to take part. You can paste the questions and craft your answers into Google’s sometime temperamental Blogger comment system in Dennis’ post. Been there, done that (thank you very much). Or, do as I’ve learned to do: post your answers on your own blog (if you have one) and leave a comment on his post with a link back to your answers. As Dennis encourages:

“At any rate, time to get to the new quiz, which hopefully you have been hankering for. The usual reminders are in order. You can post your answers in the comments column below, and when you do please copy and paste the questions as well as your answersso readers will know to what your answers refers without having to scroll back up to this post to be reminded. You can also link to your own blog page or Facebook page if you prefer to post your questions/answers there.

And please, don’t feel you have to post short answers. For this quiz, as all SLIFR quizzes, the longer, more discursive answers are almost always more interesting to read. But short answers can be great too– if you’ve got a witty, quippy reply, feel free to cut loose and run.”

So let’s get to it, shall we…

1) Name a musician who never starred in a movie who you feel could have been a movie star or at least had a compelling cinematic presence

Yeah, the obvious choice here is Freddie Mercury, especially given the recent award-winning film portrayal Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody, which I’m sure other quiz takers will mention. But my pick will have to be one from years earlier, one who left us too soon, and would have been just as enthralling:

Jimi Hendrix, c/o NPR

2) Akira or Ghost in the Shell *

Nothing against Akira, but Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 animated rendering of Masamune Shirow’s manga I find more compelling. As well, Major Motoko Kusanagi remains the primary reason Ghost in the Shell (…don’t get me started on that 2017 live action travesty) remains an all-time favorite of mine.

3) Charles Lee Ray or Freddy Krueger? *

Given their character arcs through each of their movie series, it’d have to be Chucky for me:

If you’d have asked this question a few years back, I would have said the former. But now, it would be Henry’s Man from U.N.C.L.E. co-star, especially with Armie’s list of the titles now under his belt.

6) Name a movie you introduced to a young person, one which was out of their expressed line of interest or experience, which they came to either appreciate or flat-out love

Yeah, finally out in decent digital form after decades of obscurity, this ’70s crime film has turned many of those I’ve mentioned it to into fans. Joins a couple of other sun-baked neo-noir classics of the same decade that upend the genre of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. This isn’t your father’s private detectives2.

7) Second favorite Robert Rossellini film

Have only see two, though (this and Rome, Only City)

8) What movie shaped your perceptions of New York City, Los Angeles and/or Chicago before you ever went there and experienced the cities for yourself.

Without a doubt, for New York City it’s this William Friedkin classic:

And for Chicago, this one set the tone…

And as I live in L.A. it’s all a movie for me, here. 😉

9) Name another movie that shaped, for better or worse, another city or location that you eventually visited or came to know well.

It’s the city of San Francisco3 and this definitive Steve McQueen film, as explained here.

10) Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee? *

No contest, it has to be Christopher.

11) Elizabeth Debicki or Alicia Vikander?

Among the female co-stars from The Man from U.N.C.L.E., the statuesque Aussie Ms. Debicki, has completely won me over.4

12) The last movie you saw theatrically? The last on physical media? Via streaming?

Theatrically: Spider-Man: Far From Home – all by myself

Blu-ray Disc: The Crazies (2010) – with my daughter

Streaming: The Spy Who Dumped Me – with my bride of 30 years

13) Who are the actors, classic and contemporary you are always glad to see?

14) Second favorite Federico Fellini film

La Strada (La Dolce Vita would be first)

15) Tessa Thompson or Danai Gurira *

It’d be the captivating Danai…

16) The Black Bird or The Two Jakes?

Not even close. It’s Nicholson’s underrated and worthy Chinatown sequel.

Movies have always, in one form or another, been coming to an end. And whatever’s next, it too will follow. Even so, the “moving picture” endures across whatever medium it’s viewed on. The form is always in flux, changing from one frame to the next and in the perception of the audience that happens to experience it.

To see all of my answers to every SLIFR movie quiz I’ve participated in, click here.

I’m curious to see how many answer this question with the scene from Gaspar Noé’s Irréversible (2002). Decades ago I might have been inquisitive enough for a picture like this, but now at this stage I’ve no wish to see a brutal 10-minute rape sequence on film. ↩

That said, I know Robert Culp’s wonderful solo directorial stint will likely suffer some from here out due to the heinous criminal behavior of his convicted former I Spy co-star. ↩

I see what you did here, implicating cast and locale, via Italian cinema luminaries, in Guy Ritchie’s clever revisioning (story-wise and muscially) of the vintage TV series. And with an hardy assist in Eastwood’s Trevanian espionage novel adaptation. Good show. If only you could have gotten a Jared Harris mention in (cough…Chernobyl). ↩